Biz Beat Blog

Tag Archives: Jonathan Adler

Post navigation

If you’ve been eyeing J.C. Penney’s new furniture from Jonathan Adler and Sir Terence Conran, but worried about the price, check again. Penney has started discounting it.

Most states have deceptive advertising/pricing laws that prevent new merchandise from being immediately discounted. New items that have never been in a store before must be offered at the regular price for a period of time before ads can claim the stuff is on sale.

It’s one reason you see new merchandise in stores so early before Christmas or for back-to-school. As a shopper, you decide if you are going to buy at full price when stores are fully in stock, or wait until the sales begin.

“To put a new item on sale, its original or regular price will be offered to the public for a reasonably substantial period of time,” said Penney spokeswoman Daphne Avila. Retail chains that regularly discount prices, which now include Penney, typically wait at least two weeks to offer something at a discount.

Remember former CEO Ron Johnson wanted to do away with all that by offering everyday low prices. Merchandise would then go on clearance when it was time for new items to arrive.

One of Johnson’s memorable screens from his January 2012 transformation unveiling in New York illustrated how Penney customers waited to buy things until they were put on sale. His chart showed that less than 1 percent of Penney’s sales the prior year were at full price and more than 90 percent of customer purchases were at 40 percent or more off full price.

Ording & Reda large tote that I purchased in a test shop that was open last fall at the J.C. Penney in Frisco's Stonebriar Centre. The bag was part of a broader work/office/desk collection. It cost $65 and is similar to my Longchamp tote in weight, size and functionality.

J.C. Penney is planning “the world’s largest housewarming party” marketing campaign as it rolls out its new home shops this spring. Penney is creating some advance buzz by showing off its home shops in its not so secret anymore prototype store.

Penney plans to open its Martha Stewart shops by Mother’s Day. The shops will be anchored by the “Martha Stewart Pantry” and “Martha Stewart Celebrations” collections, according to Citibank analyst Deborah Weinswig who was recently briefed by Penney.

For the categories where Macy’s has exclusivity with Martha Stewart (cookware, kitchen utensils, bedding, and bath), Penney is developing its own “Everyday” collection brand. (Lawsuits between Macy’s, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. and Penney were consolidated last year and the case goes to trial Feb. 20.)

J.C. Penney has completed a floor of its prototype store with its new home department ready to show off.

Penney smartly has been offering tours of its prototype space located on the blocked off third floor of its Valley View Center store in Dallas to local retail consultants, shopping center landlords and other opinion makers.

I’ve heard from a few folks who said they liked what they saw.

I’m interviewing CEO Ron Johnson this afternoon to see the completed floor. The last time a lot of people were brought into the space, including me, was last fall when about half the floor was done and none of the new home space was ready. Home has been a dreadful performer for Penney in recent years. At one time, it represented a healthy 20-plus percent of Penney’s sales.

My story is scheduled to run later this week. CNBC is promoting a live broadcast tomorrow morning from Valley View with reporter Courtney Reagan who is also interviewing Johnson. The report will be on Squawk on the Street which starts at 9 a.m. CT. tomorrow.

Penney has already said its seven new home shops will be from Bodum, Jonathan Adler, Michael Graves, Terence Conran, Martha Stewart, Ordning & Reda, and Pantone. Penney told Weinswig that it will devote additional marketing dollars to home, more than any other merchandise category.

Weinswig estimates that home sales at Penney are down 30 percent through the third quarter, worse than the 22 percent decline in stores sales overall. She believes home sales represented only 12 percent of sales in 2012, down from 15 percent in 2011.

“In 2013, fixing home is JCP’s top priority,” she said. “This extreme makeover of the home department fits well with our positive outlook for home-related spending in 2013, and we think home could be a traffic driver in 2013 and lead to significant improvement in overall same-store sales trends.”